Authorities warn Israelis of phishing attempt in fake Home Front Command messages
SMS with purported link to bomb shelter app is in fact an effort to steal personal information, National Cyber Directorate cautions
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Authorities warned Israelis Thursday not to fall for a phishing attempt to steal their personal details via text messages, amid the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran.
The National Cyber Directorate said that some Israelis had received messages on Thursday morning purporting to be from the IDF Home Front Command, which were in fact a phishing attempt.
Phishing is the use of ads, emails or text messages that trick a person into clicking a link to a malicious website that looks legitimate.
The directorate said the SMS contained a link to download an app purportedly designed to help people staying in bomb shelters.
While there was no word on the origin of the messages, they were distributed during a time when millions of Israelis are being sent to bomb shelters multiple times a day to protect themselves from missile and rocket barrages from Iran and Hezbollah.
The statement urged the public not to click on the link and not to provide any personal information through it, since it “may be used to steal personal information and identification details, or to damage the phone.”
It stressed that the Home Front Command does not send out text messages with links to download apps.
מערך הסייבר הלאומי @Israel_Cyber מתריע כי בשעות האחרונות מופצות הודעות SMS המתחזות להודעות רשמיות של פיקוד העורף.
בהודעות מופיעים קישורים מזיקים להורדת אפליקציה “לשהייה במקלטים”.
במערך מדגישים כי אין ללחוץ על הקישור וכי קישורים מסוג זה עלולים לשמש לגניבת מידע אישי, פרטי… pic.twitter.com/oQidAuhvUd
— National Public Diplomacy Directorate (@NationalHasbara) March 19, 2026
The National Public Diplomacy Directorate, which shared the Cyber Directorate’s statement on X, said in a subsequent post that credible information from the Home Front Command should only be received via the latter’s official platforms or from credible sources.
Some Israelis also received text messages titled “IRGC” — a reference to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — containing Hebrew-language threats and calls to leave the country, the Walla news site reported.
“Death is coming,” the messages said, calling on recipients to flee the country before “the hellfire of the Iranian missiles destroys you.”
Thursday’s warning by the Cyber Directorate wasn’t the first since the current war began on February 28.
On March 1, the second day of the war, it warned of text messages saying the Home Front Command app must be updated, also containing a malicious link.
The Times of Israel Community.